Leafpool and Squirrelflight's Secret
by justdesirex3
Summary: Everyone knows that Hollyleaf, Lionblaze, and Jayfeather were really Leafpool's kits. But how did Squirrelflight and Leafpool deal with the knowledge of the 3 kits being raised by the wrong parents? Read to find out :


Chapter 1

I hope you guys like this! This is my first warrior fanfic.

Please write a review!

It was late at night in the ThunderClan camp. Huge gusts of wind were blowing throughout the whole forest, and huge flurries of snow were falling down onto the camp. Every cat was asleep, curled up in their dens, all except for one cat.

Leafpool woke up with a start from her uneasy sleep, feeling sudden pains in her stomach. _Oh no!_ Leafpool groaned inwardly. _Not now!_ She tried to stand up on her feet as quickly as she could. She had to get away from her clanmates before they knew what was happening. She walked into the corner of her den where she kept her supplies and grabbed the various herbs she had collected in advance for herself, and wrapped them into a leaf, then picked it up in her mouth.

The cold air chilled Leafpool right to the bone. She tried hard not to make any noise as she jogged out of the camp and into the forest. She looked left and right, unsure of where to go. Through the pain, she recalled seeing a small space almost completely enclosed by ferns. Panting, she continued through the forest to find the hiding spot. A bright half moon shone down on Leafpool, casting eerie shadows through the trees. It was hard to see through the large snowflakes that fell on her pelt.

She managed to find the spot and dived into the ferns. There wasn't as much snow there, because it was protected by the large leaves. Leafpool moaned in pain, as the pains in her belly increased rapidly, and her breath came quicker and more labored. Leafpool wanted to cry for help. She'd never felt so alone in her life, and she didn't have the strength to give birth to her kits alone.

"Leafpool?"

Leafpool lifted her head slowly and tried to peer out of the leaves. Even through the flurry of snow, she could make out the dark ginger colored pelt of her sister, Squirrelflight. She was about to call out to Squirrelflight, but was interrupted by the largest pain in her belly yet, and let out a loud moan.

Squirrelflight turned her head toward the noise and dove into the bushes where Leafpool lay. "Leafpool! What are you doing here?" Squirrellfight asked frantically, looking down at her sister.

"I…I'm having…ki…kits," Leafpool managed to croak.

"What can I do to help?" Squirrelflight asked anxiously. She had no experience or training when it came to giving birth, or any medicine cat-like things for that matter.

"Just…bite open the sack…then lick the kits to make them warm when they're born." Leafpool's voice came out rapidly.

After a few more minutes, Leafpool's first kit was born. Squirrelflight quickly bent down and bit open the sack as instructed, and was relieved when the kit took its first breath. She then began licking the kit's fur until it became warm. "It's a tom!" Squirrelflight announced.

Leafpool gave a grunt of acknowledgement, and it wasn't long until Leafpool gave birth to two more kits; a gray tom and a little black she-cat.

Leafpool gathered the kits to her belly with her tail, and the 3 kits began to suckle. Leafpool looked down at her newborns. The first born, a golden-brown tabby tom, looked up at his mother with amber eyes, the same color as Leafpool's. Her daughter had her eyes closed as she suckled, but opened them to glance at her brother with green eyes like Sandstorm's. But the other tom hadn't opened his eyes yet. Leafpool had seen numerous kits being born, and she knew from experience that most mothers felt overjoyed when their kits were born. Leafpool, however, felt scared, nervous, and ashamed.

Noticing Leafpool's unusual reaction to her kits, Squirrelflight lay down next to her sister and purred, "They're beautiful, Leafpool."

Leafpool looked sadly at Squirrelflight. "Squirrelflight, what am I going to do? These are _Crowfeather's_ kits! I've already broken the Warrior Code once before by seeing Crowfeather, but now I have given birth to his _KITS?!_ I'm a failure as a medicine cat!" She wailed miserably.

Squirrelflight licked her sisters' ears affectionately in an attempt to comfort her. "We'll figure something out."

Suddenly, Leafpool had an idea. She knew it was a crazy idea, but Leafpool knew that she didn't want to abandon her kits, or give them to some other cat in a different clan. "Squirrelflight…?"

"Yes?"

Leafpool shifted slightly. "Do you think…maybe…you could raise my kits as your own? With Brambleclaw?"

Squirrelflight's green eyes widened in shock. "You know I'd love to Leafpool, but…how could I pull that off? Every cat knows I haven't shown any signs of expecting kits."

Leafpool thought quickly. "You could just say that it was very unexpected, and that I helped you deliver them tonight."

"I'll do it for you, Leafpool," Squirrelflight decided, and stared down at the kits who she would now claim as her own.

"Thank you, Squirrelflight," Leafpool sighed.

"Well, we'd better be heading back to the camp now," Squirrelflight said, stretching her legs.

"Oh wait, can you pass me that leaf please?" Leafpool asked.

Squirrelflight pawed the folded leaf over to Leafpool and watched curiously as Leafpool began looking through her herbs. "What are you looking for?"

Leafpool grabbed a green and very small but leafy plant into her mouth. "It's parsley," Leafpool said. "It will stop my milk from coming." She chewed on the herb, a bit repulsed by the odd taste. "Okay, let's go." Leafpool stood up, and nudged her kits to try to stand up themselves.

"What are their names by the way?" Squirrelflight asked.

Leafpool hadn't considered names for them, so she chose them off the top of her head. "The golden tom will be Lionkit, the gray tom will be Jaykit…and the she-cat will be Hollykit," she stated.

"Those are great names," Squirrelflight nodded in approval.

"Come on kits. Let's see your new home." Leafpool had managed to get Lionkit to stand up a bit, as well as Hollykit. But Jaykit hadn't moved. "Jaykit?" Leafpool nudged her son softly with her paw. Jaykit opened his eyes slowly, and they were a piercing blue. Leafpool called his name again, but Jaykit's gaze remained the same. _Great StarClan, no!_ Leafpool thought. Leafpool walked over to her son and picked him up by the scruff in her mouth.

"Leafpool, what is it?" Squirrelflight asked, staring curiously at Jaykit.

"He's blind," Leafpool said sadly.

"Oh, poor little thing," Squirrelflight said.

Leafpool walked past her sister without a word, and peered out of the bush. The snow was still coming down, stronger than before, but the wind had died down slightly. "We'll have to carry them home," Leafpool told Squirrelflight.

"I'll carry Jaykit and Hollykit," Squirrelflight offered, bending down and managing to pick up the 2 kits in her mouth at once.

Leafpool nodded and carried Lionkit in her jaws.

They began walking through the snow storm, the cold flakes covering all their pelts. The kits began whimpering and shivering. "It's ok," Leafpool murmured to Lionkit. Leafpool looked to her left and saw Squirrelflight trudging through the deep snow, managing to keep Jaykit and Hollykit from having their paws drag in the icy snow.

It felt like moons until they managed to get back to camp. The snow had finally stopped, and a small sun had risen in the sky and shone down onto the snow, making it a blinding white. Most of the cats in the camp were already awake, and Brackenfur was the first cat to notice Leafpool and Squirrelflight enter the camp with the 3 kits. "Squirrelflight! Leafpool! Where have you been? Firestar's been looking for you! And where did you get those kits?" He asked.

"They're my kits," Squirrelflight lied convincingly.

"That's great! Wait here, I'm going to tell Firestar and Sandstorm you're okay," Brackenfur said, and raced off towards Firestar's den.

A few moments later, Firestar and his mate, Sandstorm, who both happened to be Squirrelflight and Leafpool's parents, jumped down from the den and towards their daughters.

"Squirrelflight! Thank goodness you're okay!" Sandstorm said. She looked at the kits at Squirrelflight and Leafpool's feet. "Great StarClan! You were expecting kits?" Sandstorm exclaimed.

"It was unexpected. I didn't even know. I just woke up in the middle of the night, and Leafpool helped me," Squirrelflight explained.

Firestar looked down at his grandchildren proudly. "This is great news! Does Brambleclaw know yet?" He asked.

As if summoned, Brambleclaw emerged from the warriors den and when he saw Squirrelflight, he ran over to her. He looked down and was shocked to see 3 kits standing next to his mate. "Wha-?"

Before he could get a word out, Squirrelflight walked over to him. "You're a father now, Brambleclaw. These are your kits, Hollykit, Lionkit, and Jaykit." Leafpool watched Brambleclaw's face light up with happiness. "How did this happen?" Brambleclaw asked.

Squirrelflight pretended not to hear his question, and instead asked, "Should we bring them to the nursery now? I expect they're freezing out here."

"Of course you can," Firestar said. "Ferncloud and Daisy will be happy to have some new kits in the nursery."

"I'll check on them after you're settled," Leafpool added, trying to sound upbeat and happy for her sister.

Squirrelflight smiled at Leafpool, and then she and Brambleclaw picked up the kits and began walking off to the nursery.

"Aren't you happy for your sister?" Sandstorm asked.

"I sure am," Leafpool said. "Well, I'm going to go get some herbs ready for the kits."

Leafpool padded away from her parents and into her den. So many thoughts were swirling through her head. She kept remembering the look on Brambleclaw's face when he'd found out that he was now a father. _Would Crowfeather have felt the same way?_ Leafpool wondered, but then realized that the answer was obvious. _Of course he wouldn't. He doesn't even know that they're his. We haven't been mates for a long time, and nothing's going to change that_. She sadly took out some borage leaves from her medicine storage and walked back out of her den. She entered the nursery, and saw Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw around her kits – no, _their_ kits now – with Ferncloud and Daisy looking at the new arrivals.

Leafpool coughed awkwardly and walked closer. "Here, Squirrelflight. It's some borage to help your milk come."

"Thanks," Squirrelflight said as she ate the herbs.

"Well, I'll check on them later, I guess," Leafpool said. "Call me if you need _anything_."

"Sure thing, thanks, Leafpool," Brambleclaw said.

Leafpool ducked out of the nursery and back into her den. Exhausted, she lay down in her bed of moss, and closed her eyes. She prayed to StarClan that they wouldn't be angry at her, and that this plan would work, so that her kits would grow up to be strong and true Warriors of ThunderClan.


End file.
